by NCTM President Henry (Hank) Kepner
NCTM Summing Up, April 2010
This is a pivotal time in the evolution of mathematics education. The world of mathematics is expanding rapidly, with new areas of knowledge and applications finding their way into every corner of our daily lives. And as individuals enter the workforce, their competence in mathematics must increase at the same rate.
The challenge—and one that NCTM gladly accepts—is to provide a pathway to mathematical competence for both present and future generations.
NCTM has made a commitment to expand its focus on reasoning and sense making to support teachers in preparing students to reason, conjecture, and justify at every stage of their math journey. Reasoning and sense making will be emphasized in NCTM’s upcoming publications and professional development. A new focused initiative on high school mathematics will include materials on reasoning in statistics and probability, algebra, and geometry. This initiative will foster expanded perspectives on the role of reasoning for all students—not just students in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematic fields—and a focused look at the role of various technologies in a learner’s reasoning process.
Although the primary focus of NCTM’s reasoning effort is on high school and preparation for college and career, the Council’s work recognizes the importance of emphasizing reasoning and sense making in mathematics for all students, from prekindergarten through postsecondary experiences.
At the same time, the Council’s focus on equity continues to generate a set of resources and strategies for all teachers of mathematics. In addition, a call for research will enable the Council to present several of these efforts on the NCTM Web site in the coming year. Equity is a complex area, and we cannot afford to count out students early in their search for mathematical competence or careers. Just as basketball coaches look for signs of athletic promise and budding talent in children in the elementary grades, we must make every effort to reach and nurture students who will learn more as they mature and are given opportunities to explore their developing interests.
The Common Core State Standards Initiative, launched by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers, began in partnership with the College Board, ACT, and Achieve, Inc. Although teacher organizations were not initially involved, NCTM has provided extensive feedback to the standards writers through numerous means since the first stages of development. The Common Core State Standards Initiative has provoked extensive discussions within the mathematics education community and beyond. Not all of NCTM’s recommendations have been incorporated in the current draft, but rest assured that NCTM will be a major player in helping teachers interpret these standards and prepare for their effective implementation if they are adopted. The latest draft includes almost all of the mathematical and statistical content in NCTM’s landmarkPrinciples and Standards for School Mathematics. However, concerns remain about grade placement and some student learning trajectories on key concepts. NCTM is working to increase the prominence that the Common Core State Standards give to the Standards of Mathematical Practice—an important component that addresses NCTM’s Process Standards for problem solving, reasoning and proof, connections, representation, and communication.
The Council is moving forward to identify instructional approaches and strategies that will give students access to the technology that is an important tool in learning mathematics, as well as an indispensable tool when they enter college and consider career options. In almost every discipline and career, technology is an essential tool for executing mathematical tasks. It is our job to prepare students to use technology strategically in doing mathematics.
In this, my last, President’s Message, I thank you for your trust in me, and I promise you that the Council will continue to do everything it can to meet your needs professionally and offer you all possible support in your work with your students. I cannot close without thanking the many individuals who have generously provided me with their input and offered me their guidance, as well as those who have unselfishly helped and challenged me to address the full range of mathematics education issues that confront us. Being NCTM president has been an honor and a privilege.